The Mayor-I

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ABSTRACT: PROFILE of Mayor Edward Koch (who became Mayor in Jan. 1978). He was the second of three children, born in the Bronx in 1924. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants from Poland. Koch graduated from NYU School of Law in 1948. He became interested in reform Democratic politics, joining the Village Independent Democrats, a reform club, in 1956. In 1962 he experience his only electoral loss. The VID wanted to contest the renomination of Dem. Assemblyman Wm. Passanante and urged Koch to be the candidate. That same year Koch was elected president of the VID. Tells about his disillusionment with liberals when he went to Mississippi in 1964, to participate in the civil-rights movement. In 1966 he won a seat in the City Council. Two years later he wanted the “Silk Stocking” district seat in Congress which had been occupied by Lindsay. He won & went on to serve 9 years in the House of Representatives. His “Rubicon” was crossed in Forest Hills in 1971 when he stunned his liberal constituents by opposing the introduction of a low-income high-rise housing development in this middle-income white community. Gives his views-he calls himself a “sane liberal”. Actually he's a pragmatist. He identifies with the center of the national Democratic Party. He says he'll support Carter in 1980. Tells about his daily schedule, his staff & how it operates, recent staff changes. Tells how he is not doing a good job managing the govt. Tells of his poor relations with both the establishment & municipal labor unions, and his even more rancorous relations with black leaders. Koch is proud to be tagged as “pro-middle class.”